An event organised by AgeUK at the Assembly House pub in Kentish Town

OLDER people are feeling vulnerable after the end of Covid lockdowns, with some still feeling isolated.

Nikki Morris, the head of AgeUK Camden, a charity which holds events and provides support for older people in the borough said that after months of being told to stay at home and fearing the impact of the virus, many still had not recovered.

“There remains a real lack of confidence as a result of the years we have spent affected by Covid. Older people feel more vulnerable, and the anxiety of that hasn’t gone away and the disruption hasn’t gone away.
“If you were at home, people whose mobility might not have been as good, they might have been worried about falling

down and not being found. They did not feel safe. It is going to take us quite a while to take us back to the position where people feel confident and they aren’t having to worry as much.”

Ms Morris, who joined the charity as its head three-and-a-half years ago, said services like GP surgery appointments going partially online during Covid had made people feel more distant and disconnected from their community.

The charity provides events, advice and support in Camden, including at its Henderson Court base in Hampstead, and at pubs including the King William IV and the Assembly House in Kentish Town.

These include coffee and cake afternoons and book groups.

It also offers counselling to people, including about bereavement, which has seen demand increase in recent times.

“You can’t just tell people to meet up, you have got to have the right environment and make people want to go,” Ms Morris said.

“When we were asked to stay open in lockdown two and three, and on the first day when people came back to Henderson Court, they just wanted to sit there with other people and have coffee with their friends, not play darts or activities. People don’t necessarily want all singing all dancing, they just want to sit there with like minded people.”

She said she wanted to encourage people to volunteer, after many did when they were furloughed during the pandemic. Mutual aid groups sprung up during lockdowns to help and check in on their neighbours, but 6/10 nationally have since been wound up.

“It’s about being thoughtful about how people can still reach out. People have left Camden and there has been change, but even though people are back to having busy lives again, they can still help out.”

Ms Morris added: “For some of them they have said it’s like after the war. Once you’ve had a war, you know it can happen again and you worry about it.

“What happened was so dramatic. Suddenly all the office workers went home. Lots of places shut, you couldn’t get to your GP, you couldn’t get food, you had to stay at home, nobody could come and see you, it was very extreme and alarming and for some people, like those with dementia, it’s confusing. It doesn’t take much to trigger some people again.”